What can I do? I have many cu. ft. / pounds of cutoffs trimmings etc. that are small, thin, and probably totally useless. I can't bring myself to throw them away. They're overtaking my garage and useful wood. HELP HELP HELP ME STOP NOW!!!! :)
Help me I save scraps and can't get up or stop
Sep 23, 2005
8 Replies
This is why I got a woodstove. They can be useful *and* discarded, at the same time!
Start a termite farm. Or use them in the fireplace. Or cut them to toothpick size and build a model of Notre Dame (the Paris cathedral for you Philistines out there) or make Popsicle sticks (a zillion crafty ideas for those) or make pulp and start your own newspaper or turn them into cellulite and apply it to the thighs of some lady you dislike or... maybe I can come up with some REALLY stupid ideas if you want.
zongo, jo4hn
You should get together with the guy that had the bottle of old glue.
Simply take those pieces, sand them into dust, combine them with some of that old glue, and voila... you've got your own MDF.
hello,
depending on the size, glue them together, and make some inlay patterns with them... I spent a couple of afternoon doing that 2 weeks ago, I now have around 20 strips (4 different designs) of inlays and I am looking for plenty of boxes ideas to use them!! I just discover 2 1/4 inch scrap pieces (6''*6'' roughly) of contrasting colors and will turn them into checkerboard 1/4 square inlay strips....
it's fun and fast and cool to do!
after you are done doing that, find other woodworker around who are doing it to and do some exchanges. the problem being that you usually end up with 5 strips of the same design, which it would be much better to have 5 different designs, therefore the trading...
cyrille
I share your pain. I do use some of the smaller oak and walnut pieces in our smoker. I have to soak them for a day or so to keep them from just bursting into flame.
RonB
I do a lot of small stuff so I do keep a lot of small cutoffs and it makes sense for me to do so, up to a point. If you don't do small stuff either find someone who does locally, toss em, or ebay. Take a look at these couple auctions and it's amazing how high the bids will go sometimes. At the very least it'll be gone and you won't have thrown it away even if you didn't really get much for it.
(watch for line wrap)
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I found was the key for me was how I store them. I built a section of my bench specifically for storing this stuff with shallow trays.
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a lot of trays means I can sort them and being shallow I can actually find what I'm looking for. If they're just sitting in a big box or a pile you are never ever going to bother looking for what you need on those occasions, it'll be faster to just cut what you need off a bigger piece.
-Leuf
Try small kids toys, doll furniture, cars etc.
Smaller pieces for inlay work.
Try woodcarving tiny little animals. Keep you busy for hours.
1) Buy a lathe. Small pieces are great fodder for bottle caps, tops, pens and a myriad of other useful things. Smaller pieces can be glued up to create LAMINATED blocks for turning. 2) Contact your local schools. If they STILL have an art department, the teachers will be MORE than happy to take the scrap off your hands as "found material" for art projects. 3) Buy a chipper and make mulch. Don't include walnut and related woods. The resulting chips are welcomed by gardeners, pet owners and stables.
Of course, it is total coincidence that two of three of these suggestions include "having" to buy a new toy...I mean Tool... (*smile*).
Regards Dave Mundt
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